In this episode we dive into the 1982 Ridley Scott classic Blade Runner (based on the Philip K. Dyck novel Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?). We talk about the nature of personhood, the Turing Test, where we think Plato got things wrong, and what it means to treat another being as a person. This is one of our more philosophically heavy episodes; so be forewarned! Enjoy!

Additional Spoilers:

There are several spoilers for the movie Ex Machina and the show Westworld in this episode. 

We dive into everyone's favorite high school assigned reading and the Salinger classic. Both David and Luke were pleasantly surprised at how much they enjoyed this book. We talk about insecurities, depression, rage, theological whimsies, gift giving and receiving, a Promethean vs. a hero, and much more. Hope you enjoy!

An RTF first! We welcome our friend Billie as our first ever guest on Really True Fiction! We discuss the Stephen King novel The Stand in this episode. We discuss the world of The Stand, and how it might be similar and different from our COVID world. We also discuss leadership, reflected decision making, remember the world before a tragedy, learning and growing from a global catastrophe, goodness being small but persistent, the dangers of teleology, how propaganda works in this world, and how protracted adolescence clouds potential.  You can also find Billie and Luke on the Nothing To Fear podcast where, with their friend Alex, they watch a discuss horror movies.  https://anchor.fm/nothingtofear

Additional Spoilers:

Game of Thrones Season One 16:43

REC 48:20

Black Mirror (Men Against Fire and Metalhead) 56:08

Contagion 1:06:30

Arrested Development 1:24:30

It's a Wonderful Life 1:26:50

The Affair 1:31:00

Gladiator 1:40:05

Breaking Bad 1:52:10

IT 2:16:00

Monsters Inc 2:30:30

Pinocchio 2:40:30

We embark into our first Kubrick film. In this episode we discuss the fallout of bad leadership, the difficulty of maintaining good leaders, contemporary American issues, the challenge of moral psychology, and how older films don't really float our boats so much. Enjoy!

Additional Spoilers:

2001: A Space Odyssey - 4:45

Being There - 8:55

Arrested Development Season 3 - 9:50

A Tale Of Two Cities - 49:17

Rope - 1:27:35

*Corrections*

- At one point David says the band Straylight Run did the song "My slow descent into alcoholism". That song is actually written and performed by The New Pornographers. However, Straylight Run does have a song called A Slow Descent.

- This film did not come out four months after the Cuban missile crisis as Luke said, but rather a year and four months after.

We take the plunge. In this episode we attempt to do justice to the 1996 masterpiece Infinite Jest; written by David Foster Wallace. This novel is massive and thorough, so it would be impossible to cover everything in it. However, we talk about the three main themes/critiques (as far as we see them) which are: achievement, entertainment, and pleasure/addiction. Enjoy!

Additional Spoiler:

Brave New World 1:23:55

*Correction*

Luke says David Foster Wallace was born in 1965. He was actually born in 1962.

Here is the link to the David Foster Wallace "This Is Water" commencement speech from 2005:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ms2BvRbjOYo&ab_channel=BestEnglishSpeeches

Hey everybody! Amazingly, it has been a year of Really True Fiction! We are so grateful for everyone who listens and has contributed to this awesome experience for David and Luke. In this *not* episode, we take a little time to talk about our reflections on making this podcast over the last year. It is much shorter than a normal episode and a little bit personal. We talk about our favorite episodes from the last year, our favorite moments, what it has done for us mentally, and what we are looking forward to doing in the year(s) ahead. Again, thank you so much for listening to our podcast!

If you want to get in touch with us, you can send us an email at [email protected]. 

And we are back from our summer hiatus! In this episode we jump into the 1994 Tarantino masterpiece. We talk about Jules being a mensch, Jules Vs. Vincent in their level of consciousness, life as happenstance, our annoyance with gossip, and predict Pulp Fiction as a good candidate for modern censorship. 

If you want to get in touch with us you can send us an email at [email protected]

In this episode we discuss the 1999 David Fincher film (based on the Chuck Palahniuk novel) Fight Club. We talk about the ethics of crashing support groups, the psychology of talking to someone with a terminal illness, the specter of death, healthy vs pathological thinking, and the need to be conscious of your own life. Hope you enjoy.

Additional Spoilers:

The Life of David Gale 1:33:40

We take a deep dive into George Orwell's 1945 novella. We talk about ideology, philosophy, the importance of precise language, the disaster that results from trying to erase history, the importance of speaking up early, and overall having a more mature understanding of human nature. We also talk about the importance of not focusing on superficial qualities in other people to develop opinions about them. 

Additional Spoilers:

There are spoilers for 1984 scattered throughout the episode.

Part two of our dive into the HBO masterpiece. We talk about Marty, Maggie, and the rest of the characters in this episode. We talk about Marty's penchant for inattention, high level rationalization and self deceit, self discovery at an older age, sex as a weapon, education, and several other topics. Hope you enjoy!

Additional Spoilers:

Regression 1:33:35